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Pirates of Silicon Valley Trivia Questions

How much do you know about Pirates of Silicon Valley? This category is for trivia questions and answers related to Pirates of Silicon Valley (Television). Each one is filled with fun facts and interesting information. There are 24 questions in this immediate directory. Last updated Nov 22 2024.
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Pages: 1 - 2
11 In 1976, where were Bill Gates and Steve Bullmer when Paul Allen was off on a plane to generate Microsoft's very first business in New Mexico?
Answer: Strip-Club

As Paul flies off to New Mexico with a new programming language in his briefcase, Ballmer and Bill are having a night out on the town. The former has overheard the latter try to converse with a dancer. Ballmer shakes his head saying "Bill, you're gonna have to come up with a better pickup line because asking her her SAT score is NOT going to do it!"

But Bill has been thinking about Paul's briefcase and not listening. Suddenly he exclaims "Damn! I forgot to write a loader!"

Ballmer says: "That's not an improvement." not realising Bill was referring to computers.
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
12 Why was Steve Wozniak in hospital?
Answer: His private plane had crashed

"He was sick" were probably the first words that leapt to mind.

"Woz" had started playing with "expensive toys", as he called his new private plane. After it had crashed, he commented wryly "A computer guy with *memory* problems! A crash!"
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 2
13 How did the two Steves of Apple actually come up with the name "Apple"?
Answer: We are not told

I did some research and found out they got that name from a picture of Isaac Newton (the man who discovered gravity when an apple fell onto his head). The Steves originally used that picture as their logo, but decided later to use the more commonly known rainbow-coloured apple logo.

I can also tell you that a Macintosh is a kind of apple. So the computer they invented by that name had nothing to do with toffees or raincoats.
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
14 Steve Jobs recruited John Sculley to be Apple's new CEO. Where did John work prior to Apple?
Answer: Pepsi-Cola

At his welcoming ceremony John told everyone "Steve Jobs said to me 'Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life, or make history?'!"
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 2
15 What was Steve Job's girlfriend's name?
Answer: Arlene

They broke up about a third of the way through the film. Mainly because she found out she was pregnant and Steve insisted the kid was not his and didn't want to know.
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
16 According to Steve Jobs, what famous artist said "Good artists copy, great artists STEAL"?
Answer: Rembrandt

Later on, Bill Gates makes the same quote but when asked who originally said he says "I think it was Van Gogh."
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 2
17 What was the name of the programming language Bill and Paul first used on the Altair computer, in Albuquerque, New Mexico?
Answer: BASIC

A lot of people think Bill Gates originally invented BASIC (Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) but it existed at Harvard before he and Paul Allen were there. They were able to alter it to work on non-mainframes like the Altair, though.

A lot of people also think Bill Gates invented DOS but as we see later on in the film, he did not.
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
18 During a job interview, Steve Jobs belittles, demeans and virtually orders off Apple's premises an applicant he'd just met. Because the middle-aged, stuttering, nervous man turned out to be a ______.
Answer: Virgin

I'm sure that is not normally a pre-requisite for most computer-related jobs, but STEVE Jobs is far from an ordinary computer-related job... (pun intended).

In real life, Jobs was quite notorious for being unkind like that.
    Your options: [ Socialist ] [ IBM Supporter ] [ Virgin ] [ Microsoft Supporter ]
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 2
19 Who was the famous film director Apple employed to film its "1984"-like TV commercial?
Answer: Ridley Scott

The actor John G. Hertzler who plays Ridley Scott also plays Martok, the Klingon General, in "Star Trek - Deep Space Nine 9". He's quite a versatile actor!
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 2
20 What was the name of the computer that Apple developed after the Apple IIE computer?
Answer: Lisa

Steve Jobs named it after his first daughter, the child of his ex-girlfriend Arlene. Even though he was still adament he was not the father (despite passing the paternity test) he insisted Arlene not call the baby anything 70s-ish like "Rainbow" or "Orisha".
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
21 Why is Steve Jobs so angry with Bill Gates towards the end of the film?
Answer: Gates has used Apple's software to invent Microsoft Windows

Bill retorts when Steve accuses him of theft: "Get real, would ya? You and I are both like guys that had this rich neighbor - Xerox - that left the door open all the time. And you go sneakin' in to steal a TV set. Only when you get there, you realize that I got there first. I got the loot, Steve! And you're yellin'? 'That's not fair. I wanted to try to steal it first.' You're too late."
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 2
22 What was so special about the computer made after the Apple IIE?
Answer: It had a mouse and a graphical user interface (GUI)

Later in the film when Bill Gates sees a Lisa for the first time, he goes berserk because it makes Microsoft's stuff look 10 years out of date.
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
23 Which character became the richest man in the world as a result of the events of this movie?
Answer: Bill Gates

And that's how it went. That's the story of how Bill Gates and Microsoft became so rich and famous.

It's true Gates used other peoples' brainchilds like DOS and Apple's operating system. But I couldn't argue his point: Apple acquired the mouse and GUI from Xerox without paying a cent or doing any work.

"Pirates of Silicon Valley" was a clever name.
    Your options: [ Steve Ballmer ] [ Steve Jobs ] [ Bill Gates ] [ Steve Wozniak ]
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 2
24 Another company actually developed the innovative feature of the Apple IIE's successor. One which its Board of Directors decided not to produce, but to turn over to Apple instead (for free). What company?
Answer: Xerox

As Steve "Woz" Wozniak says "It's pretty neat. Right? Click - you're there. Click - you're somewhere else. This Graphic Interface stuff was like a miracle back then. And WE got it! (Steve got it.) From Xerox who just turned it all over for us to fool with. Like rich people giving junky old stuff to the SA. Only the junk turns out to be a Rembrandt!"
    Your options: [ Hewlett Packard ] [ Xerox ] [ IBM ] [ Dell Computers ]
  From Quiz: "Pirates of Silicon Valley" - Pt 1
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